Heater Core replacement

[HazmatJeff]

So ever since I bought the car the heat has smelled rather funny. I thought it was mold in the vents, but after a barrage of Lysol in the fall it never really went away. Well this morning there was a small (maybe 3" in diameter) wet spot on my floor mat. So I know that the heater core is starting to fail.

Here in Maine it's getting cold (though today was 50), but I'm afraid once the snow comes and I require lots of heat the issue will worsen and require an immediate fix. My parents got me a remote starter for Christmas and I feel bad knowing that it will be in vane if the heater core goes.

I called my local radiator shop and it's $670 for the replacement and another $100 for the AC recharge. Now I wont have much money till February when taxes and my schools refund comes in. I really want to attempt it myself with my father maybe, but after reading the How-To it seems rather hard.

My question is if there are any step-by-step guides out there on how to do it. Where should I order the part from if I go about doing it? How long woulf a stop-leak additive last? This is a bad time of year for this to happen.

[gtxtreme19]

The heater core does seem like a pain and although I have never replaced mine, I'd much rather do it myself than pay the exorbitant amounts any repair shop would want. I used true stop leak in an old ranger and it lasted 2 winters, you could always give it a shot.

[HazmatJeff]

When I had my Grand Am I used a stop leak in it. It looked like pellets, is it suppose to be that chunky?

[gtxtreme19]

Yeah, the kind in the little red bottle? That's the kind I had I don't remember the name but it was pretty chunky